Illuminating apparatus.



W. LUMLEY.

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION min "11.22. wila.

1,156,536. Patented 0@t12,1915.

Witnesses: Inventor:

b5 I Wilfrid ngi;

His Jfbtlorrne'g otherwise carried out and applied.

--scription of a a to' be understood", however, that while my UiT i EnsTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

'WILFRID LUMLEY, OF CONNEAUT, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY,

' A CORPORATION OE NEW YORK.

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Lettersiatent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

Application Bled April 22, 1913. Serial llo.l'62,84l.

To all whom it may concern: i

citizen of the United States, residing at Conneaut, county ofAshtabulmState of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Illuminating Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to illuminating apparatus, and especially toapparatus of the bowl illuminator type employed for indirect andsemi-indirect lighting.

The object of my invention is to improve and enhance the esthetic effectof such apparatus, as well as its illuminative eiciency and morepractical qualities. By my invention, also, the manufacture of suchappara- Itus can be greatly facilitated and cheapened, and in the eventof breakage or damage it becomes possible to execute repairs at smallcost, whereas previously such repairs were either quite impossible orexcessively expensive. Various other advantages obtainable in connectionwith the invention will also become apparent from the followingdeparticular embodiment. It is invention' extends to the particular`form of apparatus described and to many of its specific features anddetails, which are of importance on account of its specific advantages,yet the invention is not limited to this apparatus and its details, butcan be In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of theapparatus, a portion being broken away in order that certain structuralfeatures Vmay be visible, and Fig. 2 is a partial plan view.

It will be seen that the apparatus shown comprises a bowl structurewhich is adapted to be suitably mounted or suspended and to contain oneor more sources of light ,(as, for examp a number of incandescentlamps), and is intended to throw a portion of the light upward to theceiling of the room inv which it is used so that the light may be re-Heated downward in such a manner as to give a more or less uniform andVdiffuse illumin-ation. lVhen illluminators of this type are constructedaccording to the present ordinar practice and are made of opaque materias, they present an appearance o dullness which is more or lessunsightlyespecially if they are dark in color,-and when they are oflarge size they are in any case diilicult and costly to manufacture,t1an sport, and install. In connection with my invention, however, bothof these objections may be successively obviated,-the first, by aconstruction and arrangement such that a portion of the light may passout and illuminate the exterior surface of the bowl without shiningdirectly in the eyesof persons in the room, and the second by making=the illuminator in parts or sec tions suitably arranged and secured.

As shown, the objects above set forth are accomplished by the employmentof a number of sections l, 2, 3 and l arranged one section l whichcloses it at the bottom has itself the form of a relatively small bowl.The several sections l, 2, 3 and l are supported and secured together inproper relative position by means of an interior supportingstructure.-which. as shown, also serves for the mounting of a number ofthe incandescent lamps G and for the attachment of the means whereby theillumiuator is supported. The interior supporting structure shown, itwill be seen. comprises a framework made up of annular metallic membersor rings T, 8 aud 9, joined together by radially extending members orbraces 10. The members 10 are composed of flat strips or bars curved inconformity with the general form of the illuminator and bent at suitableintervals to receive the rings. As -shownJ each of the members 10comprises two such strips one of which lies beneath the rings and theother of which lies above the rings, and screws or screw bolts 11 serveto clamp the rings between the parts of each member 10.

`about the ring members.

sections 1, 2, 3 andel are supported by being secured to the annularmembers 7, 8 and 9 near their upper and lower edges, the arrangementbeing such that the members i', 8 and 9 fall near the overlapping edgesof the adjacent sections.

In addition to the framework, the interior supporting structure showncomprises a number of double footed approximately U shaped clips,brackets, o1' hangers 12 which serve as securing means for theattachment of the bowl sections to the rings T, S, and 9. The hangers 12shown consist of suitably bent` strips of metal, and they are sprungopen and slipped over the ring members 7, 8 and i) so that the latterrest in their bends. If it be deemed advisable, screw bolts 13 may beused as shown to secure and clamp some or all of the hanger clips 1'2 onthe ring members.

For directly securing the bowl sections to the hangers fasteners 1l moreor less similar to the ordinarj. binders of the cotter-pin type that areused for fastening papers together are elnployed. The fasteners 14 maybe inserted through holes in the bowl sections and in the feet of thehangers 12 and their ends bent apart in the ordinary manner, washers 15being preferably used between the heads of the fasteners 11 and thesurface of the sections, and also. if deelned advisable. under the bentover ends of the fasteners. VIn the arrangement shown` the outer ends ofthe fasteners 11 at the lower edge of each bowl section are concealed bythe upper edge of the bowl section beneath. As for any fastener endsthat are not so concealed (as shown, the heads of these near the upperedges of the several bowl sections), they and their washers 15 may besilvered, for example, ard made a feature of the exterior ornamentation:ror they may be colored to harmonize with 'the surrounding area: or theymay even be embedded in the material of the sections themselves orotherwise covered up so as to be invisible. As shown, the heads of thesefasteners lie at the center of bosses 1U which form part of theornamentation of the bowl, and so are not prominent at all.-

The lamps G and their shades are, it will be Seen, mounted in holders orsockets 17 of any desired or approved form, and the sockets 17 which arecarried from the framework 5 are fastened to brackets 1S which areclamped on the ring members 7, 8 and 9. As shown, the brackets 1S haveforked ends which fit over certain of the hangers, the screw bolts 13used with these hangers passing through holes in the sides of the forksas well as of the hangers, so that the brackets 18 are eflectuallyprevented from turning An additional lamp 19 is arranged at the bottomof the lowermost bowl section 1 in a socket 2() suitably secured there.The suspension means or chains 21 which in the apparatus shown supportthe illuminator are secured to split collars 22 clamped on the upperring i) by suitable screws.

While the sections 1, 2, 3 and l can be ,made of any desired materialand of any de .sired size, it will be understood that the greatestadvantages of my invention arise Yin the case of bowl Ailluminators ofquite large size (e. y. some three or 'four feet or more in diameter)suchas are usually made of a plaster composition known as compo." Xotonly do such illuminators benefit greatly in appearance by the more orless direct illumination of their exterior surface which such aconstruction as that above set forth affords, but b v being made insections they become very much easier and cheaper to manufacture,transport, install and repair. In the first place, the individualsections are lighter and less bulky, especially as the largest annularportions need not necessarily be in a single piece. In the second place,the sections may be so designed that illmninators of Iany size that willin practice be required can be made up with the same line of smallersections, so'that it is possible to make the smaller sections on acomparatively large scal pind in the most economical manner, while tl emanufacture of the "ery largest sections for which the demand is smallcan be handled as more or less of a special matter just as the making ofspecially large bowls of the present ordinary construction would behandled. As regards repairs, moreover, it will often be possible to makethem with a minimum of expense and a maximum of promptitude by simplyreplacing a damaged or broken section with a new one,-besides which thesectionalized construction in itself tends to localize and minimize anyinjury that the illuminator may sustain.

'hat I claim as new and desire to secure by' Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. An illuminating apparatus comprising an inner' ring, means forsupporting said ring, and an annular inclosure disposed outside of saidring and supported thereby, said support being arranged to allow theready removal of, said inclosure.

2. An illuminating apparatus comprising a plurality of superposed ringsjoined together. means attached to the uppermost of said rings-forsupporting the said rings from above'. a` pluralitv of superposedinclosure sections surrounding said rings, and meanslfor allowing theready removal nf anv one of the said inclosure sections.

3. An illmnimlting apparatus comprising a plurality of superposed ringsjoined together, a plurality of superposedinclosure sections surroundingthe said rings and supported thereby, and a light source supportedsections surrounding the said ring and having their adjacent endssupported by said ring.

5. An illuminating apparatus comprising a ring, means for supporting thesame from above, and a pair of superposed inclosure sections having aspace between their adjacent edges and supported at said edges by thesaid ring.

G. An illuminating apparatus comprising a ring, a pair of superposedinclosure sections having a space between their adjacent edges andsupported at said edges by the said ring, and a light source supportedwithin the said inclosure sections by said ring.

7. An indirect comprising a plurality of superposed rings joinedtogether,ymeans connected to one of said rings for supporting the, saidapparatus, a plurality of superposed inclosure sections surrounding saidrings, and supports extending from said rings and engaging the adjacentedges of said sections.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of April,1913.

WILFRID LUMLEY.

Witnesses: i

EDWARD' R. CRAWFORD, FREDERICK C. MAXHEIMER.

illuminating apparatusv` It is hereby certified that in Letters PatentNo. 1,156,536, granted October l2, 1915, upon the application of WilfridLumley, of Conneaut, Ohio, for a.n improvement in "IlluminatingApparatus, an error appears in the printed speication requiringcorrection as follows: Page 1, line 59, for the Word .successvely readsuccessfiiuy; and thet the said Letters Patent should be read with thisoorrecton therein that the same may conform to the record of the oase-inthe Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 23d day of November, A. D., 1915.

J. T. NEWTON,

Acting of Patents.

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